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3GS!!! Whoa!!

I have a 3GS kicking around. Its still ticking well and runs pretty fast! Its a tank of a phone.

Probably the most comfortable iPhone to hold was the 3G/3GS design, though I will give the iPhone 6 design a similarly high grade in comfort as well
Yeah, it’s the “tank” part that has me worried. I don’t feel like I’ve overprotected my 3GS and it’s still ticking a few weeks shy of 6 years old, but it’s descendants seem very fragile in comparison.
 
I still have my iPhone 4, the first iPhone I had owned. Original battery, but had to replace the screen after I accidentally smashed it with a motorcycle part :confused: . I had the , 5, and 5s, but sold both, continuing to keep this phone. They were okay, but felt far too fragile as compared to the solid feel of this device.

I do have a 6 now, but keep my 4 for iTunes Radio, and other music service via BT in my car and home. It's the main reason I Regret getting a 128gb phone, as I still use the 4 for lots of my media. Since most of my friends have iMessage, Facebook, snapchat, and other open services, I can also still use it to keep in touch with people.

I am bummed that it can't support iOS 8, handoff, continuity, and many of the features in it. Quite honestly if it did, it would remain tethered to the 6, and continue to be my primary phone. I still love the size, and the screen is still bright, clear, and big enough for me.
 
Safari and games like Sky Force 2014 ran painfully slow on my iPhone 4 which developed a yellow spot on right side of screen. Traded it in at Best Buy for $25 towards Samsung Ultimate Test Drive offer and Note 5.
 
Last day using my 4S... it's served me very well for the last 4 years. 1 new screen. Mute switch no longer works so I have to use the accessibility dot. Safari crashes often so I switched to chrome. Overall IOS8 still runs fairly smoothly.
 
My iPhone4 is my daily driver.

U0PTa4J.png
 
iOS 8.whatever.

I may have exaggerated, but it is like 2 seconds (at least)

Interesting. My screen is almost instant on. Don't misunderstand, it's been a long time since my 4S screamed "speed." :) FWIW, mine is on iOS 9. If I'm on, say, the fourth app screen over and press the home button, it has a couple of stutters getting back to the home screen.
 
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Interesting. My screen is almost instant on. Don't misunderstand, it's been a long time since my 4S screamed "speed." :) FWIW, mine is on iOS 9. If I'm on, say, the fourth app screen over and press the home button, it has a couple of stutters getting back to the home screen.
It probably wouldn't hurt for it to be backed up and restored back. Might help. What's been your experience on the 4S going from iOS 8 to 9? Worth it? Noticeable differences?
 
I have a 4s updated to ios 9.0.1 runs good. No lagging. Looks like can last me another year or more.
 
It probably wouldn't hurt for it to be backed up and restored back. Might help. What's been your experience on the 4S going from iOS 8 to 9? Worth it? Noticeable differences?

It's been okay from 8 to 9, but it seems less smooth in 9 than 8. Hopefully 9.1 will be better. I haven't noticed hoped-for longer battery usage, but I've been distracted with a bad battery. I presently have in my 4S a battery from Other World Computing. Actually, I've received two from OWC and both turned out to be poor batteries that were used, not nearly new, with the less egregious one having "only" 145 full cycles when I got it). I've order a new one from iFixit, so hopefully that will cure the battery woes.

I would probably hold off on 9 till 9.1 is released.

Edit: I just checked and see that 9.0.1 is released, so I will update to that and see if it smooths things out.
 
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It's been okay from 8 to 9, but it seems less smooth in 9 than 8. Hopefully 9.1 will be better. I haven't noticed hoped-for longer battery usage, but I've been distracted with a bad battery. I presently have in my 4S a battery from Other World Computing. Actually, I've received two from OWC and both turned out to be poor batteries that were used, not nearly new, with the less egregious one having "only" 145 full cycles when I got it). I've order a new one from iFixit, so hopefully that will cure the battery woes.

I would probably hold off on 9 till 9.1 is released.

Edit: I just checked and see that 9.0.1 is released, so I will update to that and see if it smooths things out.
Thanks! I appreciate it.
 
I am using an iphone 4 that is severely cracked, front and back. I did have an iPhone 5c but I left it on top of my car and my husband drove off and that was the end of her. I bought the 4 off Craigslist August 2014 and placed it on top of my shopping cart and it fell off after only have it maybe a few weeks. My 6s arrives tomorrow and I have finally come to my senses that a case is going on it along with tempered glass. I will say that my 4 is on its last leg. It's difficult to get the charger to work and battery life is awful.
 
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Thanks! I appreciate it.

The 9.0.1 helps some. I noticed yesterday, while listening to an audio book, that is I pressed the 15-second rewind button, that there was a delay. I would assume I had not pressed it accurately and would press it again. Then it would rewind twice. I just tried it again and it functions properly.

So how much better is it? I'm not sure. Understanding that it's 4S, my expectations aren't too high, but I'm okay with iOS 9.
 
Yeah, it’s the “tank” part that has me worried. I don’t feel like I’ve overprotected my 3GS and it’s still ticking a few weeks shy of 6 years old, but it’s descendants seem very fragile in comparison.

Yeah the 3GS is most definitely a tank. I use my device primarily as an iPod hooked up to a speaker but have dropped it on occasions; such drops would have left cracked glass or large dents in my newer iOS devices!

My favorite aspect of my wife's 4(S) is the 3 second delay between pressing the home button and then screen coming on.

3 second delay??? It's almost instantaneous on my 4S! (iOS 9)

Certainly not three steamboats

Safari and games like Sky Force 2014 ran painfully slow on my iPhone 4 which developed a yellow spot on right side of screen. Traded it in at Best Buy for $25 towards Samsung Ultimate Test Drive offer and Note 5.

I think is a bit unfair to group the 4 and 4S together in this thread, since they are from two different iPhone generations, and have very different hardware inside.

Even the 3GS ran most later games better than the 4 since they used essentially the same GPU (but the 3GS had less pixels to worry about)

My iPhone4 is my daily driver.

U0PTa4J.png

iOS 6 is a beauty! Hope to get my 4S back down to it one day. Very fast iOS

The 9.0.1 helps some. I noticed yesterday, while listening to an audio book, that is I pressed the 15-second rewind button, that there was a delay. I would assume I had not pressed it accurately and would press it again. Then it would rewind twice. I just tried it again and it functions properly.

So how much better is it? I'm not sure. Understanding that it's 4S, my expectations aren't too high, but I'm okay with iOS 9.

Yes I can second this, as iOS 9.0.1 has further helped smooth out the system a bit.

For me iOS 9 is a much better and smoother experience on the 4S than iOS 8 was (which in my opinion didn't really get fixed until 8.3) plus it gives me about 30-60 mins extra battery life than iOS 8 did.

iOS 9.0.1 fixed the only annoying bug I ever encountered on iOS 9; I couldn't at times unlock my screen and needed to cold reboot the phone
 
I'm still using my 4, until tomorrow that is. Original battery, screen (not a scratch on it), and even earbuds with daily use. It's slow though, that's why I'm upgrading.
 
I'm still using my 4, until tomorrow that is. Original battery, screen (not a scratch on it), and even earbuds with daily use. It's slow though, that's why I'm upgrading.
Same as me. iPhone 4 with original battery and no scratches. I got it on launch day with Verizon.

For the past year, though, it's been acting temperamental. It'll get the rebooting bug -- maybe because my battery? -- and the only way to fix it is to go into DFU recovery mode to restore my phone from backups. A pain in the butt, and, like you said, the phone is a bit slow from the recent iOS updates. It's been a great overall phone though, until this past year.

I am also finally upgrading my phone with a 6s Plus that's arriving tomorrow.

I'm tempted to keep my iPhone 4 as a backup phone or use it an iPod, but I'll probably just trade it in.
 
Same as me. iPhone 4 with original battery and no scratches. I got it on launch day with Verizon.

For the past year, though, it's been acting temperamental. It'll get the rebooting bug -- maybe because my battery? -- and the only way to fix it is to go into DFU recovery mode to restore my phone from backups. A pain in the butt, and, like you said, the phone is a bit slow from the recent iOS updates. It's been a great overall phone though, until this past year.

I am also finally upgrading my phone with a 6s Plus that's arriving tomorrow.

I'm tempted to keep my iPhone 4 as a backup phone or use it an iPod, but I'll probably just trade it in.

I'm keeping mine as a backup and for my grandson to play with. He's not getting his mitts on my 6s.
 
Same as me. iPhone 4 with original battery and no scratches. I got it on launch day with Verizon.

For the past year, though, it's been acting temperamental. It'll get the rebooting bug -- maybe because my battery? -- and the only way to fix it is to go into DFU recovery mode to restore my phone from backups. A pain in the butt, and, like you said, the phone is a bit slow from the recent iOS updates. It's been a great overall phone though, until this past year.

I am also finally upgrading my phone with a 6s Plus that's arriving tomorrow.

I'm tempted to keep my iPhone 4 as a backup phone or use it an iPod, but I'll probably just trade it in.

That sounds like quite the annoying fix, I must give you props for the patience to do that every time it happens (hopefully it is not often) it would drive me nuts if I had to restore frequently

Though, I do not recall there being a rebooting bug on iOS 7.1.2? The iPhone 4 hasn't received an update since June 30th 2014! Since you've had the phone for so long, instead it may be a result of a dying battery as you've had it since launch (early 2011 for the CDMA version with verizon I believe).

That is pretty impressive it is still using the original battery. Does it shut off around 35-50%? If so, that would indicate the battery needs to be changed!

You should consider getting the battery replaced if you end up choosing to keep it around as a backup phone/ipod.
 
Yeah the 3GS is most definitely a tank. I use my device primarily as an iPod hooked up to a speaker but have dropped it on occasions; such drops would have left cracked glass or large dents in my newer iOS devices!
Ahhh, stop! You’re scaring me!

My 3GS has even lived through a few of those “in trying to catch it you hit it, increasing the speed with which it impacts the ground” drops.
 
That sounds like quite the annoying fix, I must give you props for the patience to do that every time it happens (hopefully it is not often) it would drive me nuts if I had to restore frequently

Though, I do not recall there being a rebooting bug on iOS 7.1.2? The iPhone 4 hasn't received an update since June 30th 2014! Since you've had the phone for so long, instead it may be a result of a dying battery as you've had it since launch (early 2011 for the CDMA version with verizon I believe).

That is pretty impressive it is still using the original battery. Does it shut off around 35-50%? If so, that would indicate the battery needs to be changed!

You should consider getting the battery replaced if you end up choosing to keep it around as a backup phone/ipod.
Thanks for the info. Yep, I have the 2011 CDMA version. I think you're right. When the battery gets low, it does shut off, so it does sound like a battery issue. If I keep the phone, I'll definitely get a new battery.
 
After 1,415 days the 4s is being retired in about 18 hours. Original battery and screen. Battery is still decent and could last a light day of usage. Going to be a heck of a jump to the 6s. Really looking forward to having 128gb instead of 16. Not too impressed with the smaller batteries in exchange for haptic motor. Oh and I hate the font in iOS 9....
 
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